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ALPERN AT LARGE - As I write this, Mayor Bass is preparing the details of, and anticipating the aftermath of, her State of the City speech to budget and manage the City of Los Angeles for 2025-2026.
I’ve already written my diatribe about Governor Newsom, with respect to whether or not he’s turned over a new leaf, changed his ways, and become more fiscally conservative than in the past…or whether or not he’ll still be a spendthrift who caters to the left-wing children in Sacramento’s Legislature and their lobbyist allies.
Just as the arguments abound about Gavin Newsom being elected because he’s a connected, good-looking “pretty boy” with great hair, so as well do the arguments about Karen Bass being elected for reasons other than she’s a tough, outcomes-based manager.
And if that last paragraph gets your stomach twisted in knots, then so be it. Maybe YOU, Friend Reader, need to explore what it takes to be tough and committed to do the right thing.
Ditto for the issue of our need to “DOGE” the City and County of L.A., as well as the State of California—if the word/term “DOGE” sets you off, then clearly, you’re not up to making the painful, no-win, people-will-hate-you-no-matter-what decisions that are required as a manager.
For example, I still believe that Elon Musk running around with a chainsaw, and throwing money at the voters of Wisconsin, actually HURT his chances of persuading the citizenry about his budgetary audit and Wisconsin Supreme Court battles…
…but his political opponents have no answer as to what THEIR efforts would be instead, regarding the economic and political management of the cities, states, and nation we call the United States of America.
In other words, don’t waste your time blaming Musk and Trump as much as blaming local and past political leaders for not doing the unpleasant fixing themselves.
Will Mayor Bass BE a tough, steel-eyed Mayor, or just a smiling, what-me-worry Alfred E. Neuman people-pleaser who is more interested in people liking her than people respecting her?
1) Homelessness—the burgeoning “homeless industry” is so rife with corruption that both the County and State have yanked money away from all the incestuous and nepotistic controversial grifters the City has to offer.
Some of the homeless need to just go—if you’re not from around here, we have the right to take your benefits away from you, pay for some bus fare and a little bit of spending money, and shove you somewhere else (YES, we will push this problem somewhere else, what with an Olympics coming up).
Some of the homeless need to be offered a choice between available housing or a jail setting set up for vagrants.
Some just need a few setups with cheap and air-conditioned Quonset huts, with medical care, addiction counseling, and job-training skills to allow for future independence.
2) Ending or altering Sanctuary City policies: did the citizenry of L.A. City or County, or for that matter the State of California, ever vote for this “Sanctuary” status?
Is this “Sanctuary industry” just like the “homeless industry”, where public funds go towards hurting those taxpayers who’ve entrusted their leaders to do right by their public investments?
Because not all those here illegally are the same—many are just brazen lawbreakers, YES, immigration law is part The Law), and some are even human traffickers and drug smugglers who threaten to turn our nation into the nightmare we’ve seen Mexico become.
And anyone here illegally with family ties to legal American citizens can always have their families sponsor them so that the “illegal” status can be nicely dropped, and without having strangers pay for their health and welfare.
It’s an “either stay here legally or go” issue, and to ignore that is to also ignore the financial devastation that occurs when we pay for people we’ve not budgeted for…and to ignore the obvious reality that Democratic-led states and cities would hardly advocate for “Sanctuary” status if those migrating here illegally were future Republicans.
3) Cut the state budget, and/or re-prioritize it to push for more police/fire/first responder workers and cut non-safety/security budgets to the bone.
I personally HATE this last part, because I’ve fought for parks, libraries, and all civic hallmarks of civilization my whole adult life, but as much as they should be free and well-run for the public, there will be some horribly painful decisions to be made.
With respect to public transportation, a booting of the lawless and homeless elements from buses and trains needs to happen yesterday. This effort should be led by women (preferably with children) and by men who respect where women and children fit into public transportation. Law enforcement should be visible and abundant on transit.
Green policies should be truly evaluated with respect to cost-effectiveness and rewarding businesses who open and close later than the usual 9-to-6 hours would allow for less traffic and more of a business-friendly economy that caters to the taxpayers instead of the Rasputin-like zealots who don’t give a rip about the average human being.
COVID is over, and the need to nail vagrants and shoplifters in our stores and supermarkets, and reward them with jail instead of free groceries, is long-overdue. Let shopping become a pleasant and convenient habit once more.
Neighborhood councils should be encouraged to again be in person (masks OK but not mandatory) and bring back the “neighbor” into the “hood”. And if the leaders of DONE need to be terminated, then so be it.
So, it’s up to Mayor Karen Bass—she can follow in the footsteps of Mayor London Breed or in the footsteps of more courageous (and successful, and respected) mayors who get the job done. After the past three years of mismanagement that culminated in our terrible preparation and response to our disastrous fires, she’s already on thin ice.
Your call, Mayor—silly smile or respected leader!
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as an At-Large and Westside Village Zone Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
